2012 BSA Racing preview: When will the BSA IndyCar be near you?

Then point your compass (or GPS device) toward the nearest speedway. Yes, after a long winter, it’s finally racing time once again.

Over the next seven months, the IZOD IndyCar Series will visit 12 American racetracks (plus stops in Brazil, China, and Canada). For BSA units, that’s 12 opportunities to see the No. 19 Boy Scouts of America car, which is owned, operated, and funded by Dale Coyne Racing.

In all, more than 100 local councils are within 100 miles of an IndyCar race this year. In other words, nearly a third of all packs, troops, teams, and crews have a ready-made day of fun headed their way this year.

The BSA IndyCar, a generous gift of Dale Coyne (right), gives Scouts of all ages the chance to learn more about the science, technology, engineering, and math that go into racing.

The 2012 season starts Sunday in Florida with the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The race, which airs at 12:30 p.m. ET on ABC, will be our first chance to see new driver James Jakes in the red, white, and blue BSA Racing uniform.

After that, the team has a packed April with stops in Birmingham, Ala., Long Beach, Calif., and Sao Paolo, Brazil. Those races will air on the NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus).

Then there’s about a month off before the big kahuna of racing: the Indianapolis 500, held on May 27 and airing on ABC.

A week later, the series heads five hours northeast to Detroit before visiting my neck of the woods for the Firestone 550 at the Texas Motor Speedway. (I covered that race last year; click here to read about the fun I had.)

Also in June is the Iowa Corn Indy 250 on the 23rd.

After two races in Canada, the series returns to the U.S. for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Aug. 5. On Aug. 18, IndyCar makes its debut in China, and then it’s back to the states for the final three races of the year: Sonoma, Calif.; Baltimore, Md.; and Fontana, Calif.

To see the full schedule with a list of which councils are within 100 miles, click here.

And get ready to cheer on the No. 19 car this weekend!

What do you think?

How can you use the BSA’s IndyCar alliance to get your Scouts pumped up about science, technology, engineering, and math? Leave your thought below.

Related

I am totally bummed! You mentioned the Milwaukee Indyfest on June 16, but visiting Dale Coyne’s website and the schedule, it looks like they have dropped Wisconsin from the list of places they are going to visit.

Hey Bryan, in a future article could you explain why the BSA puts money into a race car? I don’t see it showing off what scouts do nor promoting the values of the organization. I’m sure someone has thought this through but the info doesn’t seem to be available locally. I’d like to find out, thanks!

I see this question a lot. It’s important to note that the car (and its day-to-day operation) are provided by Dale Coyne Racing at no cost to the BSA. We’re grateful for the generosity of Dale and Gail Coyne, lifelong supporters of Scouting! The BSA IndyCar helps scores of young people get excited about science, technology, engineering, and math.

Probably a slightly better question is why isn’t BSA advertising found on other places where boys are? Each board of review asks the Scout how they have lived Scouting in their everyday life.

I *expect* to see Scouting portrayed positively everywhere, and the Indy Car is a good start, but hardly enough. We’ve had relationships with Soccer and many other organized sports, but with millions and millions of success stories out there walking around – adults who say that Scouting has made a positive difference in their lives – why isn’t the Fleur-de-lis everywhere?

Last night, our younger Scouts met with a lawyer seeking election to become a judge as part of the civics requirement for 1st Class. In meeting with us, he told us he had reached Star himself, and the lessons learned helped make him who he is today. Yet, on his handout he listed association with 4H and Boys & Girls Club, but no mention of his BSA association.

We shouldn’t necessarily be paying lots for these referrals – our alumni should be helping by giving back and helping us reestablish the “Scout” brand as a premium once again. Paid placements on Indy Cars are an OK start, but let’s see EVERY driver who was a Scout wearing a BSA patch on his uniform if he felt it made the difference in his life.

If we can’t get that kind of support from our Alumni, how should we expect those who have never experienced Scouting to see us in a positive light?

I could get them intrested more if we had some media material about the car. Posters, pics, stats, etc. Where can I get some of this? Would like to get some posters and pics for our pack for pinewood derby.

The Boy Scouts of America have been with Indy car from the first Indy 500 race at the brickyard.. And every year The Boy Scouts of America have been working the Indy 500 race parade. Its about time they were noticed and if its a free recruitment add even at 200 plus miles an hour thats great..

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Bryan on Scouting is the official blog of Scouting magazine, a Boy Scouts of America publication. Scouting magazine is published five times a year and is received by 1 million registered adult volunteers.